I'm off work today for Confederate Memorial Day. Believe me, we got plenty of flack when they started giving us that day off as a holiday. It was actually part of the compromise for removing the Confederate Flag from the State House dome. As part of the deal, the flag was moved, and Martin Luther King, Jr., day and Confederate Memorial Day were added as official State Holidays (but I think State Employees are the only ones that actually close their offices on this day). I know it's obscure, but before you start squawking tell me: Would you refuse a day off? I won't. Not even on principle. Plus, honestly, I think they're required to give us so many holidays a year and I think we just ran out of the major ones, so we had to move on to secondary ones to get the extra day in. Well, a day off's a day off, and I plan to enjoy it. It gives me a chance to get some little things done that usually sit until they pile up to the point where I have to make time for them. That's good. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that efficient time management is a must for a busy lifestyle. That's a good point to ponder on this extra day off. Somebody asked me recently how on earth I find time to write with a full time job. The short answer is efficient time management. I'm lucky that I was taught that in college, and it's one of the skills I've found most useful in my life. It isn't always easy, but the truth is that we make time for things that are important to us, whether we realize it or not. Writing nights and weekends is the obvious answer, but I have to admit that I make a fair amount of progress by taking my laptop to work and writing on lunch breaks too. It's only an hour, but if I do that two times a week then it's the equivalent to another weeknight of work. And another secret is that I don't watch much TV. I watch 3 shows during the fall season (Arrow, Supernatural, and The Americans - all come on the same night, so I can "block out" Wednesday nights for that), and 1 show during the summer (Breaking Bad). I look up news and weather online so I don't have to watch it on TV. And yes, occasionally I do forego recreation to get writing done. I've passed on watching football games, lunches out, and shopping or "hanging out" on days off like today to write. And I have to humbly admit that I even write on sick days, if possible. One reason I made good progress on my novella this week was because I was sick with a virus Monday, but I drug myself out of bed and wrote a chapter anyway. It isn't always easy, but with some planning you can make time for things. I tell you, a busy life is a blessing. It's a life of abundance, but you have to manage it wisely to experience and enjoy it to the fullest.Speaking of the novella, it has a name now - Incursion. It looks like it going to be 10 chapters with a prologue and epilogue. I know the pros recommend against prologues and epilogues, but I like it and that's my style. If people like the piece then they'll read it. Plus, I endeavor to keep them short. To me, they're the bookends of the story and I'm not going to abandon them just because it isn't popular. Platform shoes went out of style after the 70's, but darn if I don't see women wearing those atrocities again all the time. So there. Style is a poor reason to change something that works for you. Or to do something that doesn't work. Anyway, I've written 5 chapters so far, which is excellent progress. More than I expected at this point, really. But alas, I did push myself to make this progress and my wrists are achey, so once I complete this entry then I do plan to take a break from the keyboard for the rest of today and tomorrow. You have to balance the planning and time management with common sense, and I won't make any progress at all if I push it too far with my wrist. So given my good progress this week, I'm using today to spend time with other people and things that I wish to nurture in my life. Like hanging out with the birds, tending my roses, and having lunch with Mom. A day off is a rare gift, and I want to enjoy it to the fullest.That's all today. I hope you have a Happy Friday and that the mom's out there have a good Mother's Day. Bye!

It figures. Yesterday was a chaotic day from hell and what happens? I have an idea for a novella. Isn't that the way? You have a day when it's all hitting the fan and suddenly your muse decides to return from it's Grand Canyon vacation, or wherever the heck he was anyway. It actually started out as a short story. I had to take my laptop to work for a meeting and decided to write a rough draft of this vague idea I had for a sci-fi story. I spent the entire hour writing and still wasn't satisfied. It was while I was hustling through the afternoon portion of the chaos that it hit me: What I just wrote was part of a bigger story. So I dug up some of my research from when I wrote Splinter. I brainstormed. And darn if I didn't come up with an outline by the time I left for work today. The good news is that the story is set in the Jovan system just like Splinter, so I don't need to do any additional research. Well, that I know of now, anyway. You know how things pop up as you write. But still, I can reuse a lot of it and many of the pieces are in place. I'm so excited! I think this will be my summer writing project. And you know me - I'm most content when I'm working on a writing project. Here's the basic outline I came up with:Prologue - History of the future

1. Jovan Council discovers a nuclear weapon has been detonated on Earth & the magnetosphere is showing signs of shifting.

2. Council reviews/debates consequences. Speculates on causes. Decides to ban further immigration from Earth due to radiation & uncertain political situation.

3. Ship openly goes to Earth to deliver sentence.

4. Return to Jovan system to confirm the mission is complete.

Epilogue - Earth's fate. This is general and will likely be changed by the time I finish part 1. Still, it's a plan to work from, and a plan is good. Truth is, I don't even have a working title, and I'm still not sure what Earth's fate will be. I suppose it depends on whether I'm having a good day or a bad day when I get around to writing that part :)I'd like to keep this in the range of a novella; perhaps 20,000 - 25,000 words. I'd like for it to be longer than Quarantine but not a full length novel. I need to get some more "quick reads" out there for readers. People seem to enjoy those. Since it's so short, I plan to self-publish this piece. Of course, I'll keep you updated on my progress and will no doubt share excerpts as it progresses.That's all today. Take care and have a great rest of the week. Bye!

Sherri the Writer

By day, I'm a program assistant. By night, I'm an independent author. My fiction is a dark mirror to the reality I see every day.